The building blocks of grammar

 Proper – names a particular noun and is capitalized Westford Academy, Ms. Keirstead  Common – names any one of a group of nouns and is not generally capitalized  school, teacher  Concrete – an object that can be perceived by the senses  desk, chair  Abstract – an idea, feeling, quality, or characteristic  love, happiness  Compound – two or more words used as a single noun  blackboard, backpack

 -tion  -sion  -ness  -ity  -ment  -ance  -ence  -dom

 Antecedent – the word to which a pronoun refers.  See the different kinds on pp in your grammar book  Teacher pet peeve (parents, too) – Using “I” versus “me”:  Nominative case – I, he, she, we, they  Use as subjects and predicate nominatives  He and I are going to the store. This is she.  Objective case – me, him, her, us, them  Use as direct objects, indirect objects, and objects of preposition  Keep it between you and me. I adore him.

1. Give that to Jim or __ by the end of the day.  Would you use “we” or “us”?  If we, use “I.” If us, use “me.” 2. My friend and __ didn’t do our homework.  Same test as before.  Answers – 1. me 2. I

 Tells what kind, which one, or how many  Articles (a, an, the) are all adjectives Common Adjective Endings -ive-ful -ic-ous -able-less -ible-al

 3 types – action, linking, and helping 1. Action – shows physical or mental activity 2. Linking – shows state of being; connects the subject to a word that identifies or describes it  Can be replaced by an equals sign  See p. 480 for a list of linking verbs 3. Helping – works with main verb to create a verb phrase  Include all parts when identifying as verb  See p. 482 for a list of helping verbs

-ize -ate -ify

 Tells where, when, how, or to what extent  As a general rule, if a word interrupts a verb phrase, it’s an adverb  “Not” is an adverb Common Adverb Endings -ly

 Preposition + noun =prepositional phrase  See pp for a list of prepositions  Where an ant can be in relation to a box is usually a preposition:

 Coordinating – connects the same kind  and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so  Correlative – connects the same kind, but come in pairs  both... and, not only... but also, either... or, neither... nor, whether... Or  Subordinating – connects unequal clauses  See list on p. 571

 Has no grammatical value  Set off by exclamation point or comma  WOO HOO! That’s it for grammar notes!